FCA Coach Talks Boulware on Signing Day Eve

Keith Cavanaugh

02/03/2015

Terrapin Times caught up with Friendship Collegiate Academy (Washington, D.C.) head coach Mike Hunter on the morning of Feb. 3 for a quick, pre-Signing Day interview for his thoughts on four-star guard/center Quarvez Boulware, who is set to announce Feb. 3 at 5 p.m. on Fox5 TV between Maryland (still the expected destination), Florida and Wake Forest.

Terrapin Times caught up with Friendship Collegiate Academy (Washington, D.C.) head coach Mike Hunter on the morning of Feb. 3 for a quick, pre-Signing Day interview for his thoughts on four-star guard/center Quarvez Boulware, who is set to announce Feb. 3 at 5 p.m. on Fox5 TV between Maryland (still the expected destination), Florida and Wake Forest.

TT: Mike, tell us about Quarvez the guard/center first, and how he took his game to the next level as a senior this year. What jumped out the most to you?

Mike Hunter: Quarvez is a hard working kid, he's a sponge. So whenever you try to teach him something or show him something, well he is going to really work to perfect it. And I know that is kinda cliché, but he is really that guy who will spend the extra time to perfect it.

TT:Technically, in what aspect of interior line play did he improve the most?

MH: He has always worked to improve, and I thought our OL coach did a really good job with him in improving every aspect of his game, all aspects. We moved him inside this year to play some guard, so that was definitely a transition for him. And I think he did a tremendous job for us.

At guard, he is very athletic and very strong, and those are the attributes you look for in interior players to say the least. So he pulls well, we were a big power team, so he was able to pull and get up to the next level and make some things happen.

TT:How are you and the college coaches projecting him ahead to the next level positionally?

MH: He's being recruited as both a guard and center, and I think he has the ability and he is smart enough to be able to do both. So it is really just going to depend on where the coaching staff sees him, and how well he does at camp and things like that.

And taking the next step, I would say the biggest thing, if he is going to play center, is just being comfortable making the calls and making the snaps and things like that. Because that is not something he has done regularly in high school. But we have practiced with him at it, and he has worked really hard at it. But you just want to see that translate over to the game.

But he can do a lot of things, he is versatile. We didn't keep pancake blocks and stats like that, but I know he had a lot of them this year.

TT: Talk about his three official campus visits this winter and what jumped out?

MH: He enjoyed all three visits. Because he had been to each school...so really, he was just getting in the official visit and stuff like that. He enjoyed them and all the schools did a really good job in recruiting him.
And family is really important to him, and obviously his grandparents are here. But he's a strong enough a man he could go somewhere else and be successful if that's what he wanted to do.

But I think the Maryland staff has done a really good job of recruiting him and making him feel welcome and talking about, you know, the plan they have for him and things like that. It also helps that they have five other FCA players on the team already.

TT:Who recruited him the hardest among the coaches?

MH: Mike Locksley, he has been the guy who has visited the school the most. But they have all done their deal with him and sat down and talked with him.

TT: Tell us something we do not know about Quarvez the person, like away from the field.

MH: Quarvez, he is actually a photographer. He wants to major in photography. Each school has their own name for it, but he wants to be a photographer. He is our school's photographer for all our events except football, obviously, and that's something he has really taken a liking to.

And that's something our school has definitely done a good job of cultivating his interest in. And he was a captain for us this year. But he is a student-athlete, he works hard in the classroom as well as on the field, so he is the same in both places.

TT:So as you look back on his career at FCA, what is your prevailing thought as he makes his announcement tonight?

MH: I see a hard working kid, the kind of kid you are happy to see go off, but also sad to see leave because he gets it, he gets the big picture as far as being a good teammate, good student-athlete. When you say student-athlete, he's kinda the picture of that.

TT:And as far as his decision, what's your gut feel right now?

MH: Oh, he has played this very close to the vest, not even his teammates know yet. We'll all know his decision tonight at 5 p.m.